This book has been brought to my attention at least three times through podcasts I listen to or newsletters I read. It was named as one of the best books of the year for its unique look at the work of creativity. Due to my interest in writing and the level of praise it’s received, I picked it up. It definitely lived up to its billing.
Each chapter of the book is the result of an interview by the author with an artist where he tried to get at what the process of creativity looks like. This includes many artifacts of the artists as they worked: drafts, notes, correspondence, etc. The breadth of artistry was wide including painters, playwrights, singers, songwriters, authors, and sculptors among many others. One of my favorite features of the book is the footnotes. They read like the author’s own notes on reviewing his text. They help to connect the wide variety of insights where they overlap. I found it essential to the books utility.
The writing is direct and easily accessible for such an esoteric subject. Words are hard to apply to a process that is so far from linear. There is a lot of gut feeling in this and the exploration of what that means. Each chapter is self-contained, and they can be read in any order. I read them sequentially, finding that very satisfying despite the author’s invitation to jump around. This is a book that is unique in its subject matter. I am not sure anyone else has set out to get at how art gets made in quite the same way. The author succeeds in drawing the reader into the often messy and hard to pin down process that is making art. Engaging and fascinating.
My rating: 5/5
